OTTAWA, Canada, March 31, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The attack perpetrated yesterday on an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) truck in Northern Mali, killing its driver, needs to be strongly condemned in unequivocal terms as a violation of the universal rules of international humanitarian law. This is a coward and disgraceful act […]

PARIS, France, March 31, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- StarAfrica supports young talents: In order to promote new African music talents, StarAfrica.com - Orange's entertainment portal in Africa (http://www.starafrica.com) – is launching the fourth edition of the StarAfrica Sounds music contest. The 2014 edition was a great success with 88 ca […]

BERLIN, Germany, March 31, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Foreign Minister Steinmeier issued the following statement today (31 March) regarding the elections in Nigeria on the fringes of the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme in Lausanne: The presidential and parliamentary elections in Nigeria were an emphatic commitment on the part of […]

LUSAKA, Zambia, March 31, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Tsidi Tsikata visited Zambia during March 19-31 to complete discussions for the 2015 Article IV consultation. This followed initial discussions in December 2014, prior to Zambia's recent Presidential by-election. At the end of the mission […]

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 31, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- IOM has thanked the government of Japan for its financial contribution of USD 4,725,000 (equivalent to CFA 2,9 billion) for the reintegration of returnees from the Central African Republic (CAR) and for border management in the Republic of Chad. This is the second such contribution to I […]

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 31, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- IOM, with funding from the Italian Development Cooperation has launched the “MIDA Women Somalia II” project. The launch kicked off with a seven-day Pre-Implementation Training on social business start-up and management of small socio-economic businesses with Amoud University in Hargeisa […]

MARRAKESH, Morocco, March 31, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The OCP Group (http://www.ocpgroup.ma) is planning its third "International Symposium on Innovation and Technology in the Phosphate Industry" (Symphos) (http://www.symphos.com) from the 18th to 20th of May 2015 in Marrakesh. This technological and scientific event focuses on in […]

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of the Congo, March 31, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- ECAir, Equatorial Congo Airlines (http://www.flyecair.com), is continuing to expand its network. After Libreville (beginning of February), the national airline of the Republic of the Congo has just launched a route between Brazzaville and Dakar via Bamako (end of March). […]

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, March 31, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) (http://www.icd-idb.com), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, signed today with the Free Zone Authority of Nouadhibou a technical assistance agreement to support the expansion of the fis […]

The French magazine Paris Match and the German tabloid newspaper Bild have published descriptions of a video they say was recovered from a cell phone found by a "source close to the investigation" at the Germanwings crash site.

An Iranian military observation aircraft flew within 50 yards of an armed U.S. Navy helicopter over the Persian Gulf this month, sparking concern that top Iranian commanders might not be in full control of local forces, CNN has learned.

Steven Gerrard's final appearance as a Liverpool player against bitter rivals Manchester United lasted just 38 seconds as his side slipped to a 2-1 defeat in a crucial English Premier League game Sunday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that he would lift a hold on U.S. military aid to Cairo, but also said the United States would stop allowing Egypt to buy equipment on credit starting in fiscal year 2018.

(Reuters) - Indiana's Republican Governor Mike Pence, responding to national outrage over the state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, said on Tuesday he will "fix" it to make clear businesses cannot use it to deny services to same-sex couples.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House committee is seeking a private interview with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her use of private email and a personal computer server while at the State Department, the panel said in a letter released on Tuesday.

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday vetoed a measure by Republicans in Congress that would have blocked a government labor agency's rules designed to speed up the time it takes to unionize workers.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) - The mayor of Little Rock has asked the Arkansas governor to halt a religious freedom bill similar to one recently passed in Indiana, saying in a letter on Tuesday the legislation is unnecessary, divisive and could hurt the state's economy.

(Reuters) - Indiana Governor Mike Pence said on Tuesday he will "correct" this week the state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act to make it clear that businesses cannot use it to deny services to same-sex couples.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona's governor on Monday vetoed legislation that would have kept secret for 60 days the identities of police officers involved in deadly shootings, a move that was both welcomed and heavily criticized by separate state police union leaders.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has agreed to delay implementing new bank technology restrictions that Washington has complained represent unfair regulatory pressure on foreign firms, a senior U.S. Treasury official said in Beijing on Monday.

(Reuters) - Indiana Republicans pledged on Monday to clarify a new "religious freedom" law, while similar proposals stalled in Georgia and North Carolina after businesses and activists said such measures could be used to discriminate against gays.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed a law on Monday that requires doctors to tell women that drug-induced abortions can be reversed and that blocks the purchase of insurance on the Obamacare health exchange that includes abortion coverage.

Mass exodus from Abyan to Aden

YEMEN: Cramped shelter conditions for Abyan IDPs

ADEN, – Since fleeing their homes in early March after clashes between the Yemeni army and Islamic militants in the southern governorate of Abyan, two families – 19 people in all – have been living in a 22 square metre classroom in al-Fatah School, Tawahi Distrct, Aden Governorate – and they are the lucky ones.

In such cramped conditions, Saleh Salim al-Ammari and his male cousin – both in their 50s – have decided to spend the nights elsewhere, so head off before sunset every day to look for somewhere to sleep.

“We resort to sleeping in a nearby inn, inside a car or in the street,” al-Ammari told IRIN. “Even if there is enough space inside the classroom, we cannot sleep together with women and children despite our being closely related.”

“The challenge is to provide adequate shelter to ensure safety and reasonable privacy,” said Dibeh Fakhr, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen.

A dozen families have not yet found shelter, according to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sabaa, a tribal leader from Abyan’s Mahfad District, where dozens of displaced families are living. “Some [families] still live in the open while others are sheltering under plastic sheets tacked to trees, without access to water or minimum sanitation services,” he told IRIN. “Overcrowded though the classrooms are, those who have found shelter in schools are the luckiest.”

With the climate “too harsh for providing tents… the authorities were advised to house IDPs in permanent public structures whenever possible,” said Fakhr. In Aden, some 74 schools have been used as temporary shelters for 20,000 IDPs since May 2011.

Shelter remains the biggest challenge. Schools hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Aden are already full and the host community cannot take more. With the recent arrivals, there are now almost 20 people to a room in some schools. Some IDPs have only been able to find space in school grounds or in hallways,” the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in a recent report.

UNHCR said 1,800 people had been displaced in the last two weeks, and that more than 150,000 people had been displaced in the south since May 2011.

Yemen currently has almost half a million IDPs: 314,000 previously displaced and unable to return to their homes in the northern governorate of Sa’dah; 52,000 who have been displaced over the past three months in the north, and more than 150,000 so far displaced in the south.

Edward Leposky, an external relations officer with UNHCR, said they had rehabilitated two abandoned school buildings in Aden to provide temporary shelter for some 2,000 new arrivals. The buildings are adjacent to schools were IDPs had found shelter.

According to Leposky, during an assessment conducted with IDPs of all age groups, the IDPs said they would not like to stay in the camps for cultural and health reasons.

Health risks

According to Alison Parker, chief of communications and advocacy at the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), IDPs in classrooms are at risk of communicating diseases such as measles and acute respiratory infections due to overcrowding.

“There is also the threat of cholera/diarrhoea due to inadequate hygiene conditions and inadequate water and sanitation facilities,” she told IRIN.

We have discovered TB cases in schools inhabited by IDPs in Lahj and Aden, said Mohammed Sinan, a medical volunteer with local NGO Charitable Society for Social Welfare. “If the problem of overcrowded classrooms is not solved, we can expect more TB infections within the coming days,” he told IRIN.

More at risk of displacement

With the conflict escalating, another 120,000 people are at risk of displacement in Abyan Governorate, according to UNHCR’s Leposky.

Based on the field knowledge of some international organizations working in Khanfar District of Abyan governorate, it is estimated that many of the 20,000 families currently living in areas which may see fighting, could be displaced, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on 9 March, adding that a significant percentage of potential new IDPs would continue to stay within Abyan, and seek protection and services within their tribal area.

The OCHA report said the current contingency plan envisages coping with a possible sudden outflow of 20,000 households to Aden. The plan will be triggered if 3,000 people move within a one week period.